Active shooter - Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga Tennessee

It's absolutely criminal that those Marines were unarmed. If the Commandant of the Marine Corps, GEN Odierno, and the other service chiefs don't stand up like men and change policy they should all resign in disgrace because they've failed in their duty to their Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen.

I can hear the warbling now. Liability! Risk! Not competent! Jurisdiction! PT belts and tattoos!

Fuck off. Institute a sound policy authorizing concealed carry pursuant to state laws, authorize the arming under DoD authority of certain personnel on a continuous basis, and develop a solid pistol training program across all the services (it's about fucking time, isn't it?!).

Next time--and there will be a next time, make no mistake--I want the headlines to read, TERRORIST ATTACKS RECRUITING STATION; INSTANTLY SHOT DEAD BY ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL.
 
Personal stories on the 4 Marines, some tough reading. Turns out my wife's co-worker was good friends with the young man from Wisconsin.

LINK



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We lost four Marine brothers in Chattanooga. Although it hasn't been confirmed, it appears that the attack was terrorism inspired by ISIS.

Assume that it was. Do the Marines who were killed/wounded in that attack rate the PH? Why or why not?
 
If we are in a war with terrorism(and that is a broad term) these guys died at the hands of the enemy. I would say yes.
 
In the Army Regulation (600-8-22) in the section on the Purple Heart (2-8) it specifies circumstances for awarding the PH. One of them is 'in action against an enemy of the US' and another is as a result of a terrorist attack as recognized by the SECARMY. I would think the USMC is very similar and as long as the SECNAVY recognizes the attack as terrorist in nature and/or the attacker as an enemy of the US they should be eligible for the award. My understanding is the hold-up in the Hassan attack at Ft. Hood was the failure to recognize it as terrorism, instead classifying it as an insider attack.

So, I think the Marines killed in the attack and those wounded should receive a Purple Heart.
 
Yes, I believe they do rate the PH. Whether you look at it as "just" terrorism, or from the viewpoint of the shooter acting as an individual combatant allied with a newly established (as compared to other nations) enemy state, it would appear that the requirements have been met to receive the medal.

Now, whether TPTB see it that way is another story.
 
The purple heart case surrounding the Fort Hood shooting set a precedent for awarding the PH due to domestic terrorism, as did the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Purple Heart was awarded to victims of the USS Cole attack, as well as to victims of the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. There is a Slate article calling this a "rational act of war." The same argument can be made for the Fort Hood attacks.

Thus, given precedent and our state of war against known terrorist groups--whether we acknowledge the war or not--the Purple Heart is appropriate.
 

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